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more todayilearned todayilearned comments related want to join? login or register in seconds| English this post was submitted on 17 Feb 2014 2,687 (59% like it) 8,676 upvotes 5,989 downvotes shortlink: remember mereset password Submit a new link todayilearned unsubscribe5,047,419 3,265 users here now You learn something new every day; what did you learn today? Submit interesting and specific facts that you just found out (not broad inf ormation you looked up, TodayILearned is not /r/wikipedia). Posting rules Submissions must be verifiable. Please link directly to a reliable source th at supports the claim in your post title. Images alone do not count as valid ref erences. Videos are fine so long as they come from reputable sources (e.g. BBC, Discovery, etc). No personal opinions, anecdotes or subjective statements (e.g "TIL xyz is a great movie"). No news or recent sources. News and any sources (blog, article, press releas e, video, etc.) more recent than two months are not allowed. Nothing related to recent politics. No misleading claims. Posts that omit essential information, or present unre lated facts in a way that suggest a connection will be removed. Rephrase your post title if the following are not met: Titles must begin with "TIL ..." Make them descriptive, concise and specific (e.g. not "TIL something int eresting about bacon"). Titles must be able to stand on their own without requiring readers to c lick on a link. Starting your title with a why/what/who/where/how modifier shoul d be unnecessary. "TIL about ..." and other broad posts don't belong on TIL. Try /r/Wikipe dia, etc. instead, or be more specific (and avoid the word "about"). "TIL how to ..." posts belong on /r/HowTo. No trivial or obvious facts (e.g. "TIL the sky is blue"), or facts that appe al only to a narrow audience, specifically no software/website tips (e.g. "TIL y ou can click on widgets in WidgetMaker 1.22"). All NSFW links must be tagged (including comments).

(Why we need rules) Additional info If your post does not appear in the new queue and you think it meets the abo ve rules, please contact the moderators (include a link to your reddit.com post, not your story). Please report spam, inaccurate or otherwise inappropriate posts by messaging the moderators, as this helps us remove them more promptly! More information available on the TIL FAQ and wiki. Etiquette We ask that you please do the following: avoid mobile versions of websites (e.g. m.wikipedia.org) link to the appropriate heading when referencing an article (particularly on Wikipedia) link to the appropriate start time when referencing videos (e.g. on YouTube) add [PDF] or [NSFW] tags to your posts, as necessary. Please avoid reposting TILs that have already made the front page in the pas t Please also read the site-wide Reddiquette. Talk with us on IRC: #todayIlearned on irc.freenode.org, or just click here. To adapt this style to your own subreddit, message /u/legweed! Thanks legwee d! You are loved. a community for 5 years message the moderators MODERATORS nix0n wacrover MassesOfTheOpiate relic2279 lukemcr manbra Geekymumma sdn roger_ Lynda73 ...and 9 more 2687 TIL Pres Nixon invited Johnny Cash to perform 2 songs at the White House that de ride hippy culture & welfare queens. Cash accepted the invite but instead played "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" (a mistreated Native American WWII vet), "What Is Tru th" (pro-hippy), & "Man in Black" (anti-income inequality) (en.m.wikipedia.org)

submitted 11 hours ago by THIS-IS-REDDIT 558 comments share top 200 commentsshow 500 sorted by: best [ ]da-gh0st-inside 436 points 5 hours ago* The title is a little misleading and there's also some background behind the eve nt. In 1970 Johnny Cash was probably the most lucrative artist of the year (or c lose to it) and during this time he was now considered a folk, rock, country sup erstar. He had gained respect from college students as well as major political f igures. He was also expressing his own ideas about the war. He believed that we shouldn't have been in Vietnam; however, he would go and support the troops. He often referred to himself as "a dove with claws." Nixon invited Cash to the Whit e House and was given a lot of flack by his liberal fan base. Cash said that he did it because it felt like an honor to perform for the president, or about some thing along those lines. Nixon requested those songs, yes, but Cash didn't blata ntly play his own repertoire as a way to "stick it to the man." The songs that N ixon requested were "Okie From Muskogee" (a recent hit by Merle Haggard) and "We lfare Cadillac," a song about welfare abusers. Cash stated that he did not like the idea of playing a song about welfare abusers because: one, he was someone wh o grew up during the depression; two, he did not have enough time to learn the s ongs. For his song selection, I wouldn't exactly describe it how OP does. "Ira H ayes" was about the WWII vet that helped raise that flag at Iwo Jima but he died of alcoholism due to his family branding him a traitor. "What is Truth" is not 'pro-hippy.' The song is about how the old generation shouldn't be so quick to j udge the new generation. "Man in Black" was probably the summary of all his beli efs. It should also be worth noting that Nixon was one of Cash's favorite presidents, even after the Watergate scandal. permalink [ ]sexandliquor 47 points 4 hours ago This comment should be at the top. The title of this post is really misleading. To add to your post, Johnny Cash even touches on this situation in his autobiogr aphy 'CASH'. He goes on to say that his not performing those songs that Nixon re quested wasn't out of blatant refusal, but mostly because he didn't know those s ongs well enough to perform. As they were not his songs and as such, not in his repertoire. permalink parent [ ]da-gh0st-inside 5 points 4 hours ago Exactly. I got my info from the new Johnny Cash biography by Robert Hillburn. I' ve been reading it and there's a lot of in-depth stuff and he comes across this subject. I highly recommend it. permalink parent

load more comments (2 replies) [ ]ontopofyourmom 13 points 4 hours ago In the 1960s suggesting that "the old generation shouldn't be so quick to judge the new generation" WAS pro-hippie. The hippies represented the social cutting e dge of that new generation. They were inseparable. permalink parent [ ]da-gh0st-inside 11 points 4 hours ago But not everybody of the younger generation was a hippie. Just think of the rela tionship between a kid and his parents. Parents don't understand why kids do dif ferent things while growing up because the parents did different things growing up. The lyrics are about not judging a kid for his or her music taste, not conde mning someone for the way they look, not trying to go back to the past, and espe cially reinforcing kids that they're the ones that are going to shape the countr y. Cash is practically saying that you're not going to stop this generation of k ids from doing what they're doing, so why bother? Its very relevant in today's w orld. permalink parent [ ]CaliforniaLibre 3 points 3 hours ago Not all of the leaves are brown, either. permalink parent [ ]Boomerkuwanga 0 points 4 hours ago Unfortunately, they did stop that generation. All they had to do was dangle big screen TVs, big cars, and cheap gas and the boomers jumped at. They had real pro mise as a generation, and as a social force, and they traded that for cheap cons umer goods and new age horseshit. permalink parent [ ]Cilo59 10 points 4 hours ago "big screen TVs, big cars, and cheap gas" ... Mixing and matching your generatio ns there a little bit. permalink parent [ ]Boomerkuwanga 2 points 3 hours ago Uh, no. Not at all. All of those things have been available since the early 80s, when the boomers were in their 20s and 30s. You know, the age group that market ing companies zero in on like a laser guided bomb since forever? permalink parent

[ ]wrath_of_grunge 2 points 1 hour ago big cars were on their way out after the gas embargo of the late 70s / early 80s . muscle cars died in 75. I grew up in that period. I never knew anyone to have a big screen TV until the 90s. most TVs were 19 inches. some of the big ones wer e 27. hardly big screens. the cost of gas rising is what lead to the import companies setting up manufactu ring here in the states. namely Nissan (which started making d21 pickups at the Smyrna tn plant, where my step dad works), Toyota (which built the nummi plant w ith gm about this time, Tesla bought the nummi plant and makes the roadsters the re), and Honda (which then created acura as an american luxury brand). so basically your wrong on all three fronts, good job, jackass. permalink parent load more comments (2 replies) [ ]DiamondRemix 5 points 4 hours ago Look at the progressive reforms eventually made by baby boomers, culminating in the US as pro-gay legislation, and being tolerant enough to elect a black presid ent. The Iraq war had a great deal of opposition, much from people of a certain generation and younger. Technology and science has been nurtured and used to mak e people live longer. People in countries like Russia, the Middle East, and Afri ca used counter-culture rhetoric and ideas to question government policies. That generation wasn't stopped-the median ideals became the norm, and the radical no tions still percolate underneath, as things like income inequality remain proble ms. permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]da-gh0st-inside 2 points 4 hours ago Well when you're young and starting to actually see the world as it is, you star t to question it and try to change it. But then everybody "grows up." permalink parent [ ]TheHolySynergy 4 points 3 hours ago "Sells out" FTFY For the record I'm growing out, errr... I'm selling up, now a days... permalink parent [ ]Boomerkuwanga 1 point 3 hours ago I'm almost 40. I've seen how things work right up close and personal. So, nice t

ry, but no cookie. permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) load more comments (1 reply) load more comments (2 replies) load more comments (7 replies) [ ]sillybear25 167 points 6 hours ago YouTube links: "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" "What Is Truth" "Man In Black" permalink [ ]usmcplz 8 points 4 hours ago Bob Dylan's version of "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" is phenomenal but unfortunately , youtube has removed all instances of it. permalink parent [ ]dpatt711 7 points 4 hours ago spotify has it permalink parent load more comments (3 replies) load more comments (7 replies) [ ]Grape_me 106 points 6 hours ago "Anti-income inequality"... there's a little more to that song than that. permalink [ ]ArnoldNapalmer 27 points 4 hours ago For the reckless ones, whose bad trip left them cold! Also: Well, you wonder why I always dress in black Why you never see bright colors on my back

And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town I wear it for the prisoner who is long paid for his crime But is there because he's a victim of the times I wear the black for those who've never read Or listened to the words that Jesus said About the road to happiness through love and charity Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back Up front there ought to be a Man In Black I wear it for the sick and lonely old For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been Each week we lose a hundred fine young men. And I wear it for the thousands who have died Believin' that the Lord was on their side I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died Believin' that we all were on their side Well, there's things that never will be right I know And things need changin' everywhere you go But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right You'll never see me wear a suit of white Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day And tell the world that everything's okay But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black

permalink parent [ ]Viking1865 47 points 5 hours ago Seriously. Finest protest song ever written. The hippies can't hold a candle to the Man in Black. permalink parent [ ]GilmoreBeatsGossip 59 points 5 hours ago TIL making the world a better place is a contest permalink parent [ ]bloodmerc 32 points 5 hours ago That's what people say when they lose the contest. permalink parent [ ]dementorpoop 5 points 4 hours ago Wait... we don't get participations trophies? permalink parent load more comments (2 replies) load more comments (15 replies) load more comments (6 replies) [ ]THIS-IS-REDDIT[S] 25 points 5 hours ago I was out of characters :) permalink parent [ ]caseyuer 194 points 6 hours ago Johnny Cash was a bad motherfucker, and one of the greatest artists of his gener ation. permalink [ ]TomShoe 80 points 5 hours ago I heard he shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. permalink parent [ ]BelowDeck 32 points 5 hours ago

Really? I heard he bought an El Camino, and drove it to the Y. permalink parent [ ]DroolingIguana 25 points 5 hours ago Relevant XKCD permalink parent [ ]TomShoe 5 points 5 hours ago Wow. That's terrible. In the best possible way. permalink parent [ ]xkcd_transcriber 19 points 5 hours ago Image Title: Reno Rhymes Title-text: Did you shoot a man in Reno? Now, I don't mean to pry. Comic Explanation Stats: This comic has been referenced 3 time(s), representing 0.02% of reference d xkcds. Questions/Problems | Website | StopReplying permalink parent [ ]joeyheartbear 9 points 4 hours ago Really? I thought he fucked a man in Reno, to see if he was bi. permalink parent [ ]pandaman29 2 points 4 hours ago but I thought he fell into a burning ring of fire? permalink parent [ ]HookDragger 28 points 5 hours ago Johnny Cash was a bad motherfucker, and one of the greatest artists of all t ime. FTFY permalink

parent [ ]CrappyMSPaintPics 4 points 4 hours ago Can I borrow your time machine? permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]doomshrooms 2 points 4 hours ago he was just that kind of guy. to go into the white house and play that shit, tha t takes some balls. some hippity-hop sized balls permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]gatman666 555 points 7 hours ago I find it ironic that Mr. Cash is huge among the reddest of necks who are the po lar opposite of what he stood for. permalink [ ]vw209 316 points 7 hours ago Similar to Springsteen permalink parent [ ]jargogled 28 points 5 hours ago See also: The Guess Who's American Woman and Neil Young's Rockin' In The Free Wo rld, to name a couple. permalink parent [ ]thewolfshead 31 points 5 hours ago Yep. I see a woman in the night With a baby in her hand Under an old street light Near a garbage can Now she puts the kid away, and she's gone to get a hit She hates her life, and what she's done to it There's one more kid that will never go to school Never get to fall in love, never get to be cool.

Woooo, keep on rockin' the free world, bro! permalink parent [ ]paulfknwalsh 12 points 5 hours ago also - if that gym-loving Republican Vice-Presidential candidate is anything to go by - a lot of Rage Against the Machine's catalogue could fall under this umbr ella. permalink parent [ ]danny841 16 points 4 hours ago FUCK YOU I WON'T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME...unless you're Ayn Rand. permalink parent [ ]Grenshen4px 221 points 6 hours ago* Born in the USA dealt with industrial decline and wondering why the vietnam war was fought when friends died for no reason. And was used by flag waving guys who thought it was a patriotic song, even Ronald Reagan used it as a patriotic camp aign song which made Springsteen really upset since thats how he realized people were not analyzing his lyrics as he intended. permalink parent [ ]ThirdFloorGreg 140 points 5 hours ago By "analyzing" do you mean "paying the slightest bit of attention to"? That song is about as subtle as a brick to the head (which is not to say it isn't a great song; it is). permalink parent [ ]steppe5 66 points 4 hours ago Seriously, I've heard the song a hundred times and I couldn't tell you any lyric s beyond "I was born in the USA". Maybe if he didn't mumble and grunt all of his songs... permalink parent [ ]foxdye22 95 points 4 hours ago Born in the U.S.A. Got in a little hometown jam so they put a rifle in my hand Sent me off to a foreign land to go and kill the yellow man Born in the U.S.A.

In case you were wondering what he said between there. permalink parent [ ]deadlysyntax 20 points 4 hours ago Thanks for that, I'd never bothered to learn the rest of the words, and probably never would have, So I'm glad you guys have educated me about this song. I woul d have gone on thinking Bruce's middle name was Murica for the rest of my days. permalink parent [ ]paroxysm77 9 points 4 hours ago Bruce Springsteen is a truly excellent songwriter with some classic albums! permalink parent [ ]42shadowofadoubt24 16 points 4 hours ago Another anti-establishment song that gets co-opted regularly is "Fortunate Son." Can't count how many times I've heard that played unironically on football broa dcasts, etc. Absurd. permalink parent [ ]ModestAugustine 11 points 3 hours ago Wait, there are people that don't know that Fortunate Son is an anti-war song? I mean how much more obvious can you get permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]wrath_of_grunge 3 points 1 hour ago one of my faves is how people think run through the jungle was a Vietnam song. i ts really about life in america, specifically the line about 200 million guns ar e loaded. the jungle is america. permalink parent [ ]AndrewJamesDrake 2 points 3 hours ago Fortunate Son... as in Creedence? Did they do a Cover or something? permalink parent

load more comments (4 replies) load more comments (1 reply) load more comments (1 reply) load more comments (2 replies) [ ]deadrook 11 points 4 hours ago Grrgug booon ghuug USA , iwasa, guuu USA. Mmmmum permalink parent [ ]Duckbilling 3 points 4 hours ago What he mumbles is "went to a foreign land, to kill a yellow man" permalink parent load more comments (2 replies) [ ]aakldjaslkdjaskl 58 points 5 hours ago what's so hard to understand about BORN IN THE U.S.A.? BORN IN THE U.S.A. are the only lyrics in the song BORN IN THE U.S.A. permalink parent [ ]manoninternets 51 points 5 hours ago "Come back home to the refinery Hiring man says 'Son, if it was up to me' Went down to see my V.A. man He said 'Son, don't you understand' Had a brother at Khe Sahn fighting off the Viet Cong They're still there, he's all gone..." permalink parent [ ]aakldjaslkdjaskl 44 points 5 hours ago cool, what song is this from? permalink parent [ ]Hi_Im_Jason 72 points 5 hours ago The Hulk Hogan entrance theme song from the 80's.

permalink parent [ ]STALKS_YOUR_MOTHER 54 points 5 hours ago Come back home to the refinery BROTHER! Hiring man says 'Son, if it was up to me' BROTHER! Went down to see my V.A. man BROTHER! He said 'Son, don't you understand' BROTHER! Had a brother at Khe Sahn fighting off the Viet Cong BROTHER! They're still there, he's all gone..." BROTHER! permalink parent [ ]Sallyjack 16 points 4 hours ago DRAMATIZATION permalink parent [ ]lostrock 6 points 4 hours ago I love you guys permalink parent [ ]Cloudy_mood 5 points 5 hours ago I think you mean Hacksaw Jim Duggin. permalink parent [ ]reindeermeat 7 points 5 hours ago http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZD4ezDbbu4 permalink parent [ ]aakldjaslkdjaskl 4 points 5 hours ago This might be my new favorite link. Perfect. permalink parent [ ]Deadly755 4 points 4 hours ago Oh the irony when I cannot watch this in the USA...

permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]bluntmasterflash 2 points 4 hours ago lol permalink parent [ ]NominalCaboose 13 points 5 hours ago Photograph by Nickelback permalink parent [ ]ontopic 12 points 5 hours ago PARTY in the USA - Miley Cyrus. permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]david-saint-hubbins 4 points 5 hours ago I think they're from that Billy Joel song, "Allan's Town." permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]TouchDownBurrito 9 points 5 hours ago http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bXzFY72wbs permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]aapg 3 points 5 hours ago BORN IN THE U.S.A. BORN IN THE U.S.A. permalink parent load more comments (15 replies) [ ]fetusovaries 9 points 4 hours ago Also, CCR permalink

parent [ ]Codeshark 10 points 6 hours ago BORN IN THE USA. I WAS BORN IN THE USA. BORN IN THE USA. I WAS BORN IN THE USA. permalink parent [ ]THHBBB 5 points 5 hours ago BORN IN THE USA! permalink parent [ ]DroolingIguana 3 points 5 hours ago I always wonder what scenes like that look like on the screenplay. Do they just have something like "Characters try to sing Born in the USA but can't remember a ny of the lyrics other than the title"? Do they write out each attempt to rememb er how the song goes? permalink parent load more comments (3 replies) [ ]DaHozer 34 points 5 hours ago Ever listen to the lyrics to lynard skynard songs? Because I can almost guarante e most rednecks who love the band haven't. permalink parent [ ]senor_fox 20 points 5 hours ago ...could you explain this one more? i've never heard them referenced as anything but pro-southern culture southern rock. permalink parent [ ]fridaynightjones 22 points 5 hours ago One example - "Saturday Night Special" is as anti-handgun as you can get, from m y understanding. permalink parent [ ]JBfan88 35 points 5 hours ago Hand ike your / To the r you or Yup. guns are made for killin'/ Ain't no good for nothin' else/ And if you l whiskey/ You might even shoot yourself/ So why don't we dump 'em people bottom of the sea/ Before some fool come around here/ Wanna shoot eithe me/

On a related note, my state just passed a law allowing people to carry guns in b ars. permalink parent [ ]overthetop88 8 points 4 hours ago no way, what state? permalink parent [ ]goodzillo 8 points 4 hours ago* Kentucky, I think, because something like that passed recently here. permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]mellowfever 4 points 3 hours ago Tennessee. But don't worry, although you can carry your gun into a bar, you can' t drink if you have a handgun on you! Because so many people go to bars not to d rink, but for the ambiance and decor. permalink parent [ ]jtrot91 4 points 3 hours ago If you are talking about South Carolina, (because that just got passed for resta urants) you can't carry if you are drinking. permalink parent [ ]AngryData 2 points 3 hours ago That doesn't mean it is legal to have a high amount alcohol in your system while carrying a gun though. Usually it is set the same as DUIs or in a number of cas es almost any alcohol at all. permalink parent load more comments (2 replies) [ ]DaHozer 13 points 5 hours ago I'm on mobile so it's hard to get links but if you look r. Banker", "The Ballad or Curtis Loew" and really most first few albums, (before half the band died in a plane y're anything but a bunch of racist, ultra conservative up "Things Going On", "M of the songs from their crash) you'll notice the hicks.

They're basically the opposite of what most of their listeners now are.

permalink parent [ ]Smegead 17 points 5 hours ago I've lived in Texas the vast majority of my life and I've never known Lynyrd Sky nyrd fans to be "...a bunch of racist, ultra conservative hicks." They're more like the Willie Nelson sort of laid back, keep to themselves, hard partying, drink you under the table, always have the best weed rednecks. All the big fans I know are the kind who would have The Doors as the next song o n their mix tape. permalink parent [ ]bluesyasian 5 points 4 hours ago Things Going On is probably their best song lyrically. The words are as poignant as any protest song from the era, but done to a honky tonk beat. It'd be intere sting to see if LS had continued to be progressive if Ronnie had lived, or if th ey would have fell into their current "god and guns" state. permalink parent [ ]Gorillagodzilla 18 points 5 hours ago I'm southern, love Lynyrd Skynyrd, and know exactly what they stand for. They we re rednecks. They just weren't white trash which is what you seem to think a red neck is. permalink parent [ ]NoseDragon 8 points 4 hours ago A lot of people don't understand that being a red neck has nothing to do with a political party or religion. They are mostly just blue collar folk who like guns and guitars and driving in the mud. I know a hell of a lot of red neck atheist democrats. permalink parent load more comments (2 replies) [ ]DeadHorse09 2 points 4 hours ago Hand guns are made for killin' Ain't no good for nothin' else And if you like your whiskey You might even shoot yourself So why don't we dump 'em people

To the bottom of the sea Before some fool come around here Wanna shoot either you or me Skynyrd's "Saturday Night Special" lyrics. I mean it doesn't get more blunt than that. permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) load more comments (1 reply) [ ]keyree 5 points 5 hours ago "I hope Neil Young will remember, a Southern Man don't need him around." permalink parent [ ]Kelvara 9 points 4 hours ago That's just a reference to the Neil Young song Southern Man. permalink parent [ ]xzarion2112 6 points 4 hours ago From Wikipedia: Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote their song "Sweet Home Alabama" in respo nse to "Southern Man" and "Alabama" from Neil's 1972 album Harvest. Young has sa id that he is a fan of both "Sweet Home Alabama" and Ronnie Van Zant, the lead v ocalist for Lynyrd Skynyrd. "They play like they mean it," Young said in 1976. " I'm proud to have my name in a song like theirs."[1] Young has also been known t o play "Sweet Home Alabama" in concert occasionally. To demonstrate this camarad erie, Van Zant frequently wore a Neil Young Tonight's the Night T-shirt while pe rforming "Sweet Home Alabama". permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]SirLeepsALot 3 points 4 hours ago Neil Young is a Canadian who wrote a song about Southern racism. That's where th at lyric comes from, it's still pro South. permalink parent [ ]travioso 2 points 4 hours ago That example supported senor_fox's point

permalink parent [ ]fishtaco567 9 points 5 hours ago The Ballad of Curtis Lowe is very anti-racism, and Sweet Home Alamba was written as a kind of 'we aren't racist' statement by them to Young. That smell and Need le and the Spoon are really against drug usage. Most people I know that listen t o them choose to ignore those ideas in their songs permalink parent [ ]ROAR-SHACK 5 points 5 hours ago Sweet home Alabama was a response to Neil Youngs "Southern Man" which was a pret ty scathing indictment of the south. permalink parent [ ]Leap_Day_William 10 points 4 hours ago Sweet Home Alabama was also a response to Neil Young's "Alabama." As Ronnie Van Zant said, "we thought Neil was shooting all the ducks in order to kill one or t wo." permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]Wenfield42 7 points 5 hours ago You should listen to Drive By Truckers if you haven't already. permalink parent [ ]Babrook 3 points 5 hours ago And then Lucero. Then Two Cow Garage. Then Drag The River. permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]ThirdFloorGreg 4 points 5 hours ago Or the current members. permalink parent [ ]DaHozer 2 points 5 hours ago Unfortunately permalink

parent load more comments (1 reply) load more comments (3 replies) [ ]Bardfinn1 28 points 4 hours ago Johnny Cash stood for everyone. He stood against dehumanisation, cruelty, greed, war. Johnny Cash was for rednecks, natives, cowboys, hillbillies, city folk, br own, black, foreign and domestic, Christian and not. Cash was a devout (and I si ncerely mean devout) follower of Christ's methods the Christ who visited prisone rs, washed the feet of pilgrims, tended the sick, fed the hungry. People are exactly what he stood for. People aren't greed, or war, or hunger. permalink parent [ ]bleedingjim 7 points 4 hours ago John R. Cash stood for the poor and beaten down. For those who have never read. Plenty of rednecks fit that description. Cash's music is for everyone. If you lo ok at a rock fan's collection, you'll find Johnny Cash. If you look at a gospel fan's collection, you'll find Johnny Cash. permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]unbannable9412 128 points 6 hours ago Rednecks are actually quite a bit what he stood for. Poor, usually ignorant, the low man on the totem pole. Most people have a stereotype in their head of what a redneck is, and that stere otype is usually wrong. permalink parent [ ]thepikey7 81 points 6 hours ago I think he means that today's southerners are very right winged. permalink parent [ ]Willbennett47 50 points 5 hours ago Rednecks aren't exclusive to the south permalink parent [ ]HaunterGatherer 35 points 5 hours ago Actually, it is a specific regional variant of the yokel archetype. In the South

, you have rednecks. Hillbillies are found in Appalachia and the Ozarks. Austral ia and New Zealand have the bogan. permalink parent [ ]paulfknwalsh 16 points 5 hours ago can confirm; half my family are bogans. Replace the pickup trucks with Holdens, and exchange the moonshine, painkillers and meth with.. well, bourbon, weed and meth, and they're pretty damn similar. permalink parent [ ]Zagorath 4 points 4 hours ago I hope that's a Holden ute they've got there. permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) load more comments (4 replies) [ ]Whistledog 9 points 4 hours ago Yes, but even the vegemite eating bogans think Americans, especially the conserv ative ones, are insane. I've had conversations with family members with beards t hat put duck dynasty to shame, who have been on the cover of NZ Pig Hunter Magaz ine, who think G.W. Bush is the single most retarded and destructive world leade r in their lifetimes, and blames my hippie ass for his presidency. permalink parent load more comments (10 replies) [ ]CordycepsFungus 5 points 4 hours ago There are rednecks in Canada! permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]PortlandME 8 points 5 hours ago Truth. Real solid people, IMO. permalink parent [ ]MechaDewbot 7 points 5 hours ago Can you speak for all southerners? permalink

parent [ ]HookDragger 49 points 5 hours ago Actually... they are very pro self-reliance, doing the right thing, and helping those around you. edit: sure... downvote the person who actually grew up in the south. permalink parent [ ]Wenfield42 19 points 5 hours ago I agree, but what they consider the right thing, and what reddit considers the r ight thing don't mesh too kindly. Most rednecks I've known are very good at stic king to their morals, for better or worse. permalink parent [ ]MightyPenguin 0 points 4 hours ago Better a man to grow into a strong tree that stands for something. With integrit y and moral even if not perfect, than to fly to and fro like a leaf in the wind, standing for nothing. permalink parent load more comments (8 replies) load more comments (1 reply) [ ]Iknowthiskidhere 9 points 5 hours ago That's true for every group ever though. permalink parent [ ]JBfan88 11 points 5 hours ago People are downvoting you because, much like a horoscope, this could be used to describe anyone. permalink parent [ ]del_rio 5 points 4 hours ago Really? I'm pretty sure only conservatives are pro Doing the Right Thing permalink parent [ ]LonelyCannibal 2 points 3 hours ago My kinda people like good livin' and good eatin'. Vote for me, now, ya hear?

permalink parent [ ]iKnife 10 points 5 hours ago Those are very generic traits that don't distinguish rednecks from the average p erson (with maybe the exception of self reliance.) What does distinguish redneck s is their socio-economic background, accent, usually low education that follows from the socioeconomics, and a common cultural taste. They are also normally ri ght leaning republicans - pro gun, evangelical christians. That's not Johnny Cas h. permalink parent [ ]BarneyBent 3 points 4 hours ago Cash was arguably an evangelical Christian, no idea his stance on guns. But yes, he was also very progressive on many issues. Like most people, he doesn't fit n eatly into a particular stereotype and a wide variety of people can relate to hi s music, personality and beliefs for a wide variety of reasons. permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]patchless 3 points 3 hours ago http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/decemberweb-only/johnnycash-1205.html h ttp://johnnycashplanet.tripod.com (in the interview, second to last paragraph) Johnny Cash was most definitely an evangelical Christian and a firearms collecto r. permalink parent [ ]DefinitelyNotANinja 2 points 4 hours ago they are very pro self-reliance, doing the right thing, and helping those ar ound you. I didn't see that, but going to hs/college in the south I did see a ton of publi cly judging everything you did no matter how small, and generally assuming they were right about any tiny opinion they had and therefore it was completely beyon d any rational attempt to examine it. Are you sure you aren't talking about the midwest? Cause I saw a lot of those ni cer things there. permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) load more comments (5 replies) [ ]TheSuperUser 0 points 6 hours ago

Agreed. I live in the South for many years. Most rednecks are actually what many would call socialists. I hate the "dumb, ignorant and proud of it" stereotype t hat has formed. permalink parent [ ]then8tureboy 14 points 6 hours ago I don't live in the same South you do. permalink parent [ ]Godwantsustowait 25 points 6 hours ago That's fascinating. Socialist in what ways? permalink parent [ ]Nickgraybear 8 points 5 hours ago The term redneck actually has roots in the red bandanna worn by the exploited co al miners in The battle of Blair Mountain, where they were up against the sherif fs, the state police, and the US Army. The union miners would wear the bandannas so the miners wouldn't hurt their fell ow men. permalink parent [ ]autowikibot 6 points 5 hours ago Battle of Blair Mountain: The Battle of Blair Mountain was one of the largest civil uprisings in Unite d States history and the largest armed rebellion since the American Civil War. F or five days in late August and early September 1921, in Logan County, West Virg inia, some 10,000 armed coal miners confronted 3,000 lawmen and strikebreakers, called the Logan Defenders, who were backed by coal mine operators during an att empt by the miners to unionize the southwestern West Virginia coalfields. The ba ttle ended after approximately one million rounds were fired, and the United Sta tes Army intervened by presidential order. Image i Interesting: Don Chafin | Logan County, West Virginia | United Mine Workers | Mi ngo County, West Virginia Parent commenter can toggle NSFW or delete. Will also delete on comment score of -1 or less. | FAQs | Mods | Magic Words | flag a glitch permalink parent [ ]Nickgraybear 3 points 5 hours ago Thanks /u/wikibot!

permalink parent load more comments (3 replies) [ ]TheSuperUser 22 points 6 hours ago Many. Ok, so ask them what they think of Obamacare. Many probably hate it. Now ask the m about Obamacare without calling it Obamacare. They'll agree that it's a good i dea. Ask them about giving poor people a hand, no "handouts" as they are often c alled. They'll agree with you. This is quite commonplace too. Call the ideas a d ifferent name, not Obamcare or socialism and they'll agree with you. Talk to people, most don't bite and really are quite nice, sadly they do the ign orant part of the stereotype a bit too much justice. permalink parent [ ]aydee123 11 points 5 hours ago This actually makes a lot of sense. When I hear "redneck" I think of a working-class, small town person living out i n the country (a "proletariat", if you will). That's exactly the kind of person who would be against big corporations and income/wealth inequality and all for u nions and such. Never thought about it that way. permalink parent [ ]TheSuperUser 11 points 5 hours ago And for quite a while they were. Listen to many popular country and bluegrass an d polka songs of the 1920s and 1930s and you'll get that vibe, the most obvious of these being Woody Guthrie. Pete Seeger is another one (though I ain't too sur e whether he qualifies as a Southerner or not, but it's still folk music and it was popular back in its day). permalink parent [ ]ThirdFloorGreg 12 points 5 hours ago Proletarian. The proletariat is all of them as a group. permalink parent load more comments (22 replies) [ ]aakldjaslkdjaskl 2 points 5 hours ago Trailer parks.

permalink parent [ ]pasabagi 13 points 5 hours ago* I've noticed this too. You can usually get grassroots conservatives to agree to really socialistic positions - I think most would probably be most comfortable i n a socially conservative, socialist system. However, they've been hijacked by t he basically liberal leadership of the republican party - which marries liberal economics with socially conservative social policy. And the only alternative to that is liberal economics with liberal social policy, so they vote Republican. EDIT: I'm using 'liberal' in the technical sense here - not the specific US dome stic use. Liberal in this sense refers to two primary beliefs: first, the indivi dual as a self-interested agent*, second, the market as an inherently efficient system. Basically, Hume, and Adam Smith. *This is not, I have to add, traditionally a conservative belief. Traditional co nservatives held to ideas like sin, and vice, but didn't hold to the idea that p eople were always self-interested - rather, they could be interested in a family group, or simply destructive without a possible gain (e.g. the sin of wrath). permalink parent [ ]TheSuperUser 5 points 5 hours ago It's only those that bother voting anymore. Most people I talk to are either too cynical or too isolated to feel they can make a difference. I think that you have a point, most people would be comfy in a socialist system that uphold solidarity and working together as part of the core values. permalink parent [ ]then8tureboy 5 points 5 hours ago The opposite is true too. I get forwards all the time from idiots I know that ha ve Howard Stern pulling aside Democrats and giving them Republican ideas and tel ling them that Obama supports the stuff. 10 out of 10 times they are cool with e nding food stamps/gay rights/abortion if they believe President Obama supports i t. I used to see the reverse of this with Romney supporters on my Facebook feed las t year too. permalink parent [ ]ThirdFloorGreg 4 points 5 hours ago Liberal is not used that way in the US outside of PoliSci departments, so you ju st confused the hell out of most of the Americans reading this. permalink parent [ ]pasabagi 4 points 5 hours ago

Yeah, shit, sorry - I'll do an edit or something to clarify. Still, I find it pr etty fascinating that the word 'liberal' has come, over time, to encompass some socialist ideals in America, due to the collapse of the American socialist movem ent. permalink parent load more comments (14 replies) [ ]rectungled 8 points 6 hours ago That's why they vote republican since they are such socialists. permalink parent [ ]Ragark 5 points 5 hours ago I think the South use to be the domain of the "Progressives" before the switch i n 1960s. I dunno, I'm still looking into it. permalink parent load more comments (4 replies) [ ]get_rhythm 2 points 4 hours ago Look at North Dakota. Very redneck, very republican. Restrictive laws about when businesses can operate, state mill, state bank, laws protecting family farms, l aws protecting small pharmacies, many farm co-ops... strong pushes for more regu lation of oil (though the sheer size of the industry is new here, so that part i sn't as strong). This is the worker's paradise, bring a parka. permalink parent [ ]Bardfinn1 2 points 4 hours ago The word "socialist" was demonised by evangelicals who saw it as meaning "commun ist", and that being cognate to "atheist". Most devout Christians are actually s ocialists, even if they've been told for fifty years by Pat Robertson and the So uthern Baptist Convention and Rupert Murdoch that "socialist" is a bad word. permalink parent [ ]Cats_of_War 3 points 5 hours ago Read,what's the matter with Kansas it covers us it was once the most socialist a nd progressive state to one of the most backward and conservative. A lot of it h as to do with organized religion. permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]Mishmoo 2 points 4 hours ago

You should not be getting downvoted; you are completely correct. permalink parent [ ]Jamesdeanskiller 6 points 6 hours ago What the hell are you talking about? Socialists? Everybody should understand how wrong that statement is. permalink parent [ ]laofmoonster 6 points 5 hours ago* The term "redneck" used to refer to unionized coal miners in Appalachia: The term can be found throughout McAllister Coleman and Stephen Raushenbush' s 1936 socialist proletarian novel, Red Neck, which recounts the story of a char ismatic union who says to his girl, "I'm not much to be proud of. I'm just a red necked miner like the rest." EDIT: And if you buy the idea of social liberalism as class warfare (which I do) , present-day socialists ought to have far more sympathy with lower-class whites than blue-state liberals show. (See also Christopher Lasch) permalink parent load more comments (2 replies) load more comments (10 replies) [ ]mafuckinsteviewonder 27 points 5 hours ago I'm from the South. Most rednecks I know don't listen to Johnny Cash. My dad is a Southern Social Conservative. He used to listen to all kinds of music. Willie Nelson, mostly, but some Johnny Cash as well. Now he doesn't listen to anything. Too librul. It's not that he didn't realize it at the time, it's just that his attitude changed so drastically as he got older. Fox News is the only music to h is ears now. It's the one thing I repit man that hates d listening to roots helps you understand permalink parent [ ]pdxsean 8 points 4 hours ago keep going back and listening to roots music, and most importantly keep disc overing new music. It helps you understand people younger than yourself. This is probably the best piece of advice I've read this week. Thank you! I need to try listen to more music for this reason, if none other. permalink can say that he taught me. Don't grow into a bitter old dec the world. Keep listening to your music, keep going back an music, and most importantly keep discovering new music. It people younger than yourself.

parent [ ]AngryData 3 points 3 hours ago Electronic music has been and is still on the rise. Just remember there is more than just techno and brostep. If you don't like it, there are literally hundreds of other entire genres in just "electronic" music. permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) load more comments (1 reply) [ ]bigwangbowski 4 points 5 hours ago Maybe they just have good taste in music, man. I know rednecks who absolutely ha te what passes for country music these days. permalink parent [ ]StraightfromSTL 2 points 4 hours ago I swore off country music stations when I made it halfway through Billy Curringt ons "pretty good at drinkin beer", which has the esteemed title of least intelli gent song I've ever heard. If it isn't before 1995, I don't wanna hear it. permalink parent [ ]Analog265 3 points 3 hours ago If it isn't before 1995, I don't wanna hear it. Yeah, if only country music today could reach the lofty standards set by the lik es of "Achy Breaky Heart". permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) load more comments (1 reply) [ ]baroqueworks 2 points 3 hours ago You might be mistaking tru-rednecks for modern day country radio fans who self-i dentify themselves as "rednecks", aka kids from the suburbs who want to be count ry/drive lifted trucks/pretend to have a redneck lifestyle when they don't come from one. I live in a town of around 1000 that's about 10-20 miles from suburbs, and kids will come out to this town just to hang here and play the part. It's p retty fucking embarrassing, but I've seen it for years now, starting back when I was in high school this crap was going on. Johnny Cash is definitely popular am ong them, but this is actually, in large part because of "Ring Of Fire"(The Movi e), which caused a surge in Cash's popularity. In contrast with his peers, I've always saw JC listed amongst total modern shlock with faux-rednecks listing musi c they love, names like Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Jerr y Jeff Walker, etc etc way less prone to popping up.

Either or, alot of these people don't even know real country. Heck, even current radio country lacks any real creditability to even be called country. At the he ight of the 70s/80s country boom there was a fair amount of social commentary in country music just as there were equal amounts of ballad songs. Alas, sometime in the late 90s into the 00s things shifted from actually singing about issues/s tories to just digging through a trough of words that resemble a stereotype of " country lifestyle for young adults(lifted trucks, whiskey, etc etc) then making references to older country in a way they can say "hey look guys, I'm totally a country musician because I mentioned a George Jones playing on my radio in my so ng!!!"(this technique was actually was conjured by Hank Williams Jr, who most of his big hits relied on referencing his Dad's name or musical peers he didn't ho ld a candle to[Sorry Hank Jr fans]). A on topic good example of this is "Hell Yeah" by Montgomery Gentry, who in one of the lyrics about a hardened right-winger war vet tells the bar to play Johnny Cash, which if they had the slightest iota of knowledge about Johnny Cash they' d realize he was a stupid choice for the lyrical content, but i digress. TL;DR -> cynical rural guy pointing out hypocritical rednecks can more than ofte n be redneck posers who don't even listen to real country but can use Johnny Cas h as a artist they listen to because he's a widespread name and widely praised c ountry artist and they probably don't really listen to him. permalink parent load more comments (2 replies) load more comments (19 replies) [ ]Link_Demobilizer 63 points 11 hours ago Here is the non-mobile version of this site. Friendly reminder that TodayILearned does not remove posts solely for being mobile, so please only report if there is another issue with this post. permalink [ ]SanityInAnarchy 2 points 3 hours ago I wish they did! Come on, people, only takes a few taps to remove the '.m' from the URL to save everyone some time... permalink parent [ ]THIS-IS-REDDIT[S] 3 points 11 hours ago Thanks permalink parent [ ]bosephus 23 points 6 hours ago Didn't Nixon create Supplemental Security Income, the biggest means-tested welfa re program in history? How was he angry against welfare queens if he's the guy t hat started one of the biggest welfare programs in history?

permalink [ ]deafballboy 15 points 5 hours ago Nixon grew up poor as all get out, but he and his family worked their tails off to make ends meet (huge hospital bills for his brother, college for himself). He was a self made man and believed firmly in that, but understood that not everyo ne had the some ability or mentality. permalink parent [ ]ABKC 22 points 6 hours ago You'll find as you go through politics that what politicians publicly support an d what politicians actually do are rarely the same thing, usually not even relat ed, and sometimes complete opposites of one another. permalink parent [ ]proud_to_be_a_merkin 6 points 4 hours ago How was he angry against welfare queens if he's the guy that started one of the biggest welfare programs in history? I feel like you answered your own question. If you created a safety net for low income people, would you not be angry at those who unfairly took advantage of it ? The term "welfare queen" refers to people who game the system and receive aide when they aren't necessarily in need of it. Not a fan of Nixon or anything, just playing devil's advocate. permalink parent [ ]ThirdFloorGreg 8 points 5 hours ago Also, Reagan coined the term Welfare Queen (or at least popularized it). permalink parent [ ]kabamman 2 points 4 hours ago Politicians say stupid things to get reelected judge them on their actions not w hat they say. permalink parent load more comments (5 replies) [ ]FootballandFutbol 8 points 5 hours ago If I'm not mistaken, Ira Hayes was in the picture of the soldiers raising the fl ag in Iwo Jima, and after reading the book "Flags of our Fathers" I agree, he wa s horribly mistreated.

permalink load more comments (1 reply) [ ]Kr1ll1nX 18 points 5 hours ago As much as I love Johnny Cash, I have to downvote OP... Here are the lyrics to "Man in Black". Well, you wonder why I always dress in black, Why you never see bright color s on my back, And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone. Well, there 's a reason for the things that I have on. I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down, Livin' in the hopeless, h ungry side of town, I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime, But is there because he's a victim of the times. I wear the black for those who never read, Or listened to the words that Jes us said, About the road to happiness through love and charity, Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me. Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose, In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes, But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back, Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black. I wear it for the sick and lonely old, For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold, I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been, Each week we lose a hundred fine young men. And, I wear it for the thousands who have died, Believen' that the Lord was on their side, I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died, Believen' t hat we all were on their side. Well, there's things that never will be right I know, And things need changi n' everywhere you go, But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things righ t, You'll never see me wear a suit of white. Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day, And tell the world that everything 's OK, But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back, 'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black. There is about a million different things Johnny cash is singing about in this o ne song, and OP assumes the song is entirely about income inequality? The song is for anybody that has fallen on hard times, or who is suffering throu gh a shitty life due to being taken advantage of, mistreated, or unjustly punish ed. permalink [ ]spgcorno 4 points 5 hours ago Came here to say this. "Income inequality" is such a "now" political term I knew it had to be bull. permalink parent load more comments (3 replies)

[ ]aakldjaslkdjaskl 2 points 5 hours ago anybody that has fallen on hard times, or who is suffering through a shitty life due to being taken advantage of, mistreated, or unjustly punished. Right, so not the super wealthy. permalink parent [ ]Smegead 6 points 4 hours ago If you really think that being wealthy means nobody ever takes advantage of, mis treats, or punishes you then you have a really odd perspective on life. Well, there's things that never will be right I know, And things need changi n' everywhere you go There are people who make their entire livings by exploiting the rich, people wh o marry for money and then take off, people who will ride your coat-tails to the top of the corporate ladder then throw you under the bus and take your place. Y ou can't get rid of problems, you can only trade them in for different ones. permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]lollipopklan 14 points 6 hours ago I wonder if Colbert thought about this before his night at the White House? I ju st tried to watch it for the first time and I couldn't get past a couple of minu tes because I was waiting for him to be dragged out by the Secret Service. permalink [ ]DaHozer 11 points 5 hours ago That's always hilarious to watch but makes me squirm a bit when they cut to a sh ot where you can see Dubya. Just an uncomfortable reminder he's saying all this feet from the man himself. Balls of steel on Colbert. permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]ABgraphics 4 points 5 hours ago and Nixon wasn't even mad permalink [ ]kabamman 3 points 4 hours ago He wasn't and he probably knew it was going to happen.

permalink parent [ ]monkeyhog 4 points 6 hours ago Why would Nixon invite him to perform and then ask him to play other peoples son gs instead of his own? That would be like inviting Eminem, and saying "hey can y ou do 99 problems?" permalink [ ]da-gh0st-inside 8 points 6 hours ago At that time Johnny Cash had a television show and he would perform other artist s' songs with or without them. He was also known to perform other artists' songs while he was on tour. Cash did write a lot of songs but a lot of other songwrit ers requested him to play their music. permalink parent [ ]KingGorilla 4 points 5 hours ago I would ask eminem to do that. Then 99 luftballoons. permalink parent load more comments (2 replies) [ ]VideoLinkBot 3 points 5 hours ago* Here is a list of video links collected from comments that redditors have made i n response to this submission: Source Comment Score Video Link sillybear25 166 johnny cash-man in black sillybear25 166 Johnny Cash - What is Truth sillybear25 166 Johnny Cash - The ballad of Ira Hayes lyrics lollipopklan 14 Colbert Roasts Bush - 2006 White House Correspondents' D inner ontopic 12 Notorious B.I.G and Miley Cyrus - Party And Bullshit In The USA TouchDownBurrito 9 Born in The USA - John Candy - Canadian Bacon Kelvara 8 Neil Young - Southern Man reindeermeat 7 Bruce Springsteen - Born In The U.S.A. DrAttorney 2 Peter LaFarge - The Ballad of Ira Hayes paulfknwalsh 1 Marijuana Spotting AKA Hot-Kniving. rddman 1 Stephen Colbert "America Again: Re-Becoming the Greatness We Nev er Weren't" tcstylist 1 George Zimmerman habla con Univision -- Noticiero Univis in JagYui 1 Wilson Pickett - Land Of 1000 Dances Stereo MrPerks 1 Johnny Cash - Man in black with lyrics MrPerks 1 Johnny Cash The Ballad of Ira Hayes VideoLinkBot FAQ Feedback Playlist of videos in this comment permalink

[ ]SockofBadKarma 3 points 4 hours ago Seeing as how the term "welfare queen" didn't even enter the American lexicon un til Reagan coined it in 1976, two years after Nixon left office, I highly doubt that Nixon wanted Johnny Cash to sing about them. permalink [ ]Short_Swordsman 6 points 7 hours ago Has a popular singer-songwriter that claimed widespread support among average am ericans ever turned out to be what a conservative president wanted? I can think if several instances of the president getting it wrong but none of him getting i t right. permalink [ ]zach9889 16 points 7 hours ago Elvis Presley permalink parent [ ]omnicious 3 points 4 hours ago Damn what a great deal for Nixon. Only asked for 2 songs and got 3. permalink [ ]bleedingjim 2 points 4 hours ago Title is misleading. Please don't misconstrue what Cash's intentions were. permalink [ ]hackin_kraken 2 points 4 hours ago Wow such bravery. permalink [ ]ApplicableSongLyric 2 points 3 hours ago Larry Norman actually did something like this during the Carter Administration. He was told to not sing anything political. So he sang "The Great American Novel ": I was born and raised an orphan in a land that once was free In a land that poured its love out on the moon; and I grew up in the shadows of your silos filled with grain, but you never helped to fill my empty spoon. And And But And when I was ten you murdered law with courtroom politics, you learned to make a lie sound just like truth; I know you better now and I don't fall for all your tricks, you've lost the one advantage of my youth.

You kill a black man at midnight just for talking to your daughter,

Then you make his wife your mistress and you leave her without water; And the sheet you wear upon your face is the sheet your children sleep on, At every meal you say a prayer; you don't believe but still you keep on. You are far across the ocean but the war is not your own, And while you're winning theirs, you're gonna lose the one at home; Do you really think the only way to bring about the peace Is to sacrifice your children and kill all your enemies? The politicians all make speeches while the news men all take note, And they exaggerate the issues as they shove them down our throats; Is it really up to them whether this country sinks or floats? Well I wonder who would lead us if none of us would vote. Well my phone is tapped and my e, You know every move I make, or Well you try to make my way of If I promise to make tapes and lips are chapped from whispering through the fenc is that just coincidence? life a little less like jail, slides and send them through the mail.

And your money says in God we trust, But it's against the law to pray in school; You say we beat the Russians to the moon, And I say you starved your children to do it. You say all men are equal, all men are brothers, Then why are the rich more equal than others? Don't ask me for the answer, I've only got one: That a man leaves his darkness when he follows the Son TL;DC, musicians get to get away with stuff because they're musicians. permalink [ ]m_xt 2 points 3 hours ago 'Cash wrote that the reasons for denying Nixon's song choices were not knowing t hem and having fairly short notice to rehearse them, rather than any political r eason.' Wikipedia. permalink load more comments (1 reply) [ ]herp_der_derp 18 points 9 hours ago Cash never missed an opportunity to fuck with an idiot. Good man. permalink [ ]da-gh0st-inside 30 points 6 hours ago Actually, Cash has said that Nixon was his favorite president. The reason being is because Cash thought Nixon portrayed himself as someone who didn't want the w ar but felt it was necessary. Cash also called himself a "dove with claws." permalink parent [ ]AziMeeshka 6 points 5 hours ago

dove with claws This is a really good phrase, it's also something I can identify with. permalink parent load more comments (4 replies) [ ]HannerTall 15 points 5 hours ago Why was Nixon an idiot? permalink parent [ ]kabamman 5 points 4 hours ago Because of the circle jerk. permalink parent [ ]Jtizzlefoshizzle 3 points 4 hours ago Extremely paranoid. Started illegal wars. But he's a Republican, so that's probably what rustles most redditors jimmies. permalink parent load more comments (9 replies) [ ]ontopofyourmom 7 points 4 hours ago Nixon had a higher IQ than you and me combined. He was a dick, not an idiot. Als o a Dick. permalink parent [ ]Pollum 3 points 4 hours ago He wasn't a dick. He was just misunderstood as a man, especially during the time of his presidency. It's well-documented by his biographers that Nixon had unsha kable ethics before Watergate. Whether you believe he ordered the break-in or no t, presidents from both parties before and after Nixon engaged in activities far more illegal than those surrounding Watergate. People hate Nixon the caricature with no morals and vastly hyperbolic paranoia. They don't hate Nixon the Presid ent and the man. They are nauseatingly uneducated about the latter. permalink parent load more comments (4 replies) load more comments (1 reply) [ ]totes_meta_bot 3 points 5 hours ago

This thread has been linked to from elsewhere on reddit. [/r/SubredditDrama] Someone called Richard Nixon an idiot. Drama over Republ icans, Ivy league schools, and 1970s politics I am a bot. Comments? Complaints? Send them to my inbox! permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) load more comments (63 replies) [ ]avenger2142 6 points 6 hours ago I wouldn't exactly call "Man in Black" an anti-income equality song. permalink [ ]ThatDharmaPunk 10 points 6 hours ago Per the lyrics "I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down, Livin' in the hopeless, hung ry side of town, I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime, But is there because he's a victim of the times." permalink parent load more comments (5 replies) [ ]manoninternets 3 points 4 hours ago "Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose In our streak of lightning cars and fancy clothes But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back Up front there ought to be a Man In Black." permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]TheScissors1980 3 points 4 hours ago Yes, and "Folsom Prison" was written about the importance of supporting Barack O bama. I'm no Alfred Einstein but I'm fairly certain that "Man in Black" is more about being a good person in general, and has nothing to do with socialism. permalink [ ]nickster182 5 points 7 hours ago

This is why Cash is an American Hero permalink [ ]TheScissors1980 2 points 4 hours ago Oh look, explained in the part about Nixon's invite what it says OP... "Cash wrote that the reasons for denying Nixon's song choices were not knowing t hem and having fairly short notice to rehearse them, rather than any political r eason" This post makes me want to puke. Don't try to use one of my heroes to further yo ur politics. I don't know what his beliefs were politically and I sure as hell w ould never pretend I did. 90% of people will only see the headline and not do th e 3 seconds of research I did to find out how misleading this is. F U op. Have some respect and leave Johnny Cash out of your political propaganda please. permalink load more comments (56 replies) about blog about team source code advertise jobs help wiki FAQ reddiquette rules contact us tools mobile firefox extension chrome extension buttons widget <3 reddit gold store redditgifts reddit.tv radio reddit Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy . 2014 reddit inc. All rights reserved. REDDIT and the ALIEN Logo are registered trademarks of reddit inc. p